Indicating device



June 30,1942. l G, M. DICK. 2,288,229y

INDICATING DEVICE v Filed Dec. 1s, 1940 2 sheds-sheet 1 H l S ATroRNEY.

June 30, 1942. G. M. DICK 1 2,288,229

INDICATING DEVICE Filed Deo. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet? :Zig-(Liz INVENTOR HIS ATTORNEY.

Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE INDICATING DEVICE George M. Dick, Sherbroeke, Quebec, Canada, as-

signor to Ingersoll-Rand Company, New York,` N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 13, 1940, serial No. 370,024

Claims. (C1. 116-122) by the hoist to be located at the various stoppingstations with a minimum loss of time.

Other objects will be in part obvious land in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and in which similar reference numerals refer to similar parts:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of hoisting mechanism equipped with an indicating device constructed in accordance with the practice of the invention,

Figure 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of i the indicating device,

Figure 3 is an end elevation, partly broken away, taken through Figure 2 on the line 3 3,

Figure 4 is a transverse View taken through Figure 3 on the line 4-'4, v

Figure 5 is an elevation taken through Figure 2 on the line 5-5, and

Figure 6 is a transverse View taken through Figure 5 on the line B-6.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 28 indicates a mine shaft from which lead, at different levels, drifts 2l, 22 and 23. At the mouth of the shaft is a frame 24 supporting `a sheave 25 for a cable 26, one end of which is attached to a cage 21 and the other end to the drum of a. hoist 28 serving to -raise and lower the cage 2l' in the shaft 20.

The hoist `28 may be of any well known type driven by an electric motor29 which is controlled by a controller 30 mounted upon an operators platform 3l. Adjacent the controller 30 is an operating lever 32 for the brake of the hoist and upon the front end of the operators platform, between the hoist and its controlling devices, is

the indicating device 33 which is connectedto bei? driven by the shaft 34 of the hoist through suitable transmission mechanism designated, in general, by 35 and consisting, in the present instance, of suitable shafting and gears that serve to trans- .on the side that seats `against the holder.

mit motion from the hoist shaft to the driving shaft 36. of the indicating device.

The indicating device, constructed in accordance with the ypractice of the invention, comprises a pedestal 31-having a pair of diverging arms 38 at its upper end to which is secured, as by screws 39, a casing 40.

The casing 48 is shown as being of drum-shape having an opening 4| in its rearward side to admit of access to the elements enclosed by the casing and said opening is normally closed by a cover 42 secured to the casing 4U by a hinge 43.

The drive shaft 36 extends upwardly through a bore 44 in the pedestal 3'! and is journalled in a bearing 45 arranged in the upper end of the bore 44. On the upper projecting end of the drive shaft is a bevelled pinion 4B that meshes with a gear 41 keyed to a horizontal shaft 48 journalled in a bearing 49 at the upper end of the pedestal 31. The gear 41 abuts an end of the bearing 49 and on the opposite end of the shaft 48 is a pointer 5G having a split hub 5l that is clamped to the end of the shaft 48 by a bolt 52.

The pointer 50 is spaced a suitable distance from the end of the casing 4|] to provide room for a holder 53 in the form of a disk-like plate that is secured to the casing .by screws 54. The holder 53 serves as a support for a plurality of station indicators 55 arranged around the periphery of the holder to correspond with theV stopping stations for the cage 21, in the present instance, the drifts 2l, 22 and 23.

The station indicators 55 are of V-shape. They are so arranged on the front surface of the holder that their tips 56 point toward the axis of the shaft 48 and have a ypair of spaced lugs'51 and 58 The lugs 5'! seat slidably into an annular groove 59 in the surface of the holder confronting the pointer 50 and the lugs 58 overlie the periphery of the holder and carry locking screws S0 that seat against the periphery of the holder 53 to lock the indicators securely in a desired position.

Preferably, an annular flange 8l is provided on the periphery of the holder 53 to lie between the locking screws 60 andthe bodies of the indicators 55 to retain the'indicators on the holder during the shifting of the indicators from one position to another.

In practice, whenever it is desired to position the indicators 55 to correspond with the location of a stopping station for the hoist cage 21, the locking screw 60 is unthreaded slightly. The indicator is then moved along the marginal portion of the holder to the desired position and when it is correctly located the locking screw 60 is manipulated to clamp the indicator to the holder.

Any number of station indicators 55, equalling,

. for instance, the number of stopping stations for the hoist cage 21, may be placed upon the holder 53 and whenever the cage is raised or lowered, the pointer 56 will swing from one station indicatorv to the next succeeding indicator 55 during the shifting' of the hoist cage from one stopping station to another. For a true indication of the 'position of the hoist cage the pointer 56 should, of course, come to rest in exact radial alignment with the station indicator. However, inasmuch as the spaces between the indicators 55 are small as compared with the distances between stopping Stations the precise locating of the pointer is not an easy matter since even a slight, hardly perceptible, misalignment of the pointer 56 with a station indicator 55 may result in a wide difference in elevation of the cage 21 with respect to a stopping station in the shaft 20. In order, therefore, to indicate a magnified showing of a degree of misaligmnent of the pointer 59 with a station indicator, the indicating device is provided with a second pointer 62 having its axis of rotation on the shaft 48.

The pointer 62 is of the double ended type, that is to say, it has symmetrical portions on opposite sides of the shaft 48 and its ends are intended to coincide with a V-shape marker 63 on the end of the casing above the shaft and in its vertical plane. The pointer 62 lies within the casing, and in the end wall of said casing is an extended arcuate slot 64 to permit of observation of the movements of the pointer 62.

Although the pointer 62 is disposed about the shaft 48 it is rotatable relatively to said shaft. In the form of the invention shown said pointer is disposed on an annular extension 65 of a pinion 66 constituting an element of a gear train serving to transmit movement to the pointer 62. The pointer 62 is clamped to the extension 65 by pinch bolts 61, and between the pointers 62 and 56 is a collar 68 that is secured to the shaft 48 and seats against the annular extension 65 to hold the pinion 66 against the adjacent end of the bearing 49 for preventing endwise movement of the shaft 48 in the direction of the gear 41.

Motion is transmitted to the pinion 66, and thus to the pointer 62, by a gear 69 mounted upon a shaft 16 lying in a bearing 1| on the side of the pedestal 31, and the gear 69, in turn, meshes with a gear 12 keyed to a shaft 13 journalled in a bearing 14 on the side of the pedestal 31 beneath the bearing 1|.

The pointer 62 is also driven by the drive shaft 36 but is rotated through an arc of constant extent so that upon each actuation of the pointer an end thereof will be brought into coincidence with the marker 63. The movement of the pointer 62, however, is effected intermittently and to this end a carrier in the form of a circular plate is affixed to the gear 41 as by screws 16. Near the periphery of the carrier and on the side thereof confronting the pedestal 31 is an annular groove 11 for the accommodation of actuators 18 or, more particularly, lugs 19 on the rearward surfaces of the actuators and extending into the groove 11.

' The actuators are further provided with additional lugs 86 suitably spaced with respect to the lugs 19 to receive therebetween the marginal portion 8| of the carrier 15. The lugs 80 carry locking screws 82 to seat upon the periphery of the carrier for securing the actuators 18 fixedly thereto. A peripheral ange 83 on the carrier, serves as a shoulder between the bodies of the actuators 18 and the locking screws 82 for maintaining the actuators on the carrier during the adjustment thereof on the carrier.

On the front surfaces of the actuators 18 are detents 84 that lie normal to the grooved side of the carrier and rotate through a circle, that includes within its compass the shaft 13, to enf gage the teeth 85 of a star wheel 86 keyed to the shaft 13. The actuators 18 are equal in number to the station indicators 55 and are so located upon the carrier 15 that the spacing thereof relatively to each other is substantially a reproduction of the spacing of the station indicators upon the holder 53. Thus, for example, in a structure in which the groove of the carrier 15 is of smaller diameter than that of the holder 53 the distance between adjacent actuators corresponding to given adjacent station indicators is in direct proportion to the distance between such indicators. This spacing of the actuators may be readily accomplished b-y merely shifting them along the groove 11 and tightening them in 'positions to correspond with given settings of station indicators on the holder 53.

In order to assure absolute immovability of the pointer 62 during the periods of disengagement of the detents with the star whe-el 86, said star wheel is provided with a brake adapted to act upon the end surfaces 81 of the teeth 85. This brake is shown as being in the form of a spring plate 88 carrying at one end a button 89 of suitable braking material to engage the teeth 85. The opposite end of the plate 88 is secured to a seat 99 on the pedestal 31 by screws 9|. A pressure adjusting device may be provided for the brake in the form of a screw 92 threaded into a lug 93 on the pedestal 31, and said screw 92 acts upon the plate 88 intermediate the button 89 and the seat and is provided with a lock nut 94 to lock it securely against unauthorized rotation.

In order to assure a true indicating position of the pointer 56, unaffected by lost motion resulting from the necessary clearances between the inter-engaging parts, as for example the pinion 46 and the gear 41, the shaft 48 is provided with a Ycounter-weight 95 that exerts a constant pull upon the shaft 48 in one direction. This counter-weight 95 is suspended by a cable 96 encircling and attached to the hub portion 91 of lthe gear 41.

The operation of the device is as follows: Let it be assumed that it be intended to lower the cage 21 to, say, the loading position at the mouth of the drift 2|. The controlling devices of the hoist are then manipulated to lower the cage and during the descending movement of the ca-ge motion is transmitted from the hoist shaft 34 through the connected transmission members 35 to the drive shaft 36 of the indicating device to drive the gear 41 in a clockwise direction.

Being fixedly connected to the shaft 48 the pointer 50'will also rotate in a clockwise direction and its movement will be continuous as long as the drive shaft 36 remains in motion. The carrier 15, however, also rotates with the shaft 48 and in so rotating carries a detent 84 into mesh with the star wheel 86.

Thus, as the carrier 15 continues to rotate it imparts a partial revolution to the shaft 13 and, through the gears 12 and 69 and the pinion 66, to the pointer 62. The pointer 62 will then be rotated through a half circle,;and since: it moves while the pointer 59 is in motion and `through an arc of considerably greater extent Vthan the arcs between indicator stations it also rotates at a greater speed than the pointer' 50.

In the described settingof the actuators 'i8 with respect to the station indicators 5,5 the rotation of the pointer E2 will take. place as the pointer 55 approaches a stationindicator 55 and when the pointer 55 is about to move into coincidence with such station indicator the pointer 62 sweeps into View behind the slot 64. Its movement toward the marker 63 may then be observed and when the pointer .52 is in the same radial plane as the marker 63 the hoist is stopped by the operator asthe pointer 5E will then also be in exact radial alignment with the station indicator.

If, however, the hoist should be Astopped while the pointer 50 is, for example, still short of coincidence with-the station indicator a magniiication of such diierence in alignment will be indicated by the pointer 52, .since the divergence of the pointer 62 from the marker S3 will be wide as compared with the angular distance between the pointer 50 and the station indicator. This is due to the fact that the arc of rotation of the pointer 62 is always greater thanlthe distance between station indicators, where more than two station indicators are used. quently, the distance between the pointer and the marker 63 must at all times be greater than the distance between the pointer and the station indicator and, for thatreason, more readily perceptible. This, as will be readily appreciated, is highly advantageous in operating the hoist since the rate of movement of the `pointer -62 more nearly approximates the rate voi" movement of the cage than does the pointer 5D. The cage may, therefore, be shifted-rapidly from one .drift `to another with little regard to the position of either pointer, and when the pointer 52 swings into view ample time will remain to manipulate the hoist control devices for bringing the said pointer into alignment with the marker and thereby indicate that the hoist cage is in a correct position with respect to a drift.

After a detent 84 has shifted the star wheel 86 the distance required to rotate the pointer 62 through a half circle into registry with the marker 63 such detent moves out of engagement with the star wheel which will then be held immovable, as will be the associated gears and the pointer 62, by the brake acting upon the peripheral surface of a tooth 85, until another detent again rotates the star wheel and associated elements to new positions.

Upon further lowering of the hoist cage to a new stopping station the cycle of operation, above described, is repeated, and when the hoist is operated to raise the cage to a higher level a reverse movement of the elements eiecting the movement of the pointers will take place to indicate the position of the hoist cage.

I claim:

l. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum. comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a movable member, a driving device for moving the movable member from one station indicator to another, means for indicating a magnification of a space between the movable member and one of said station indicators as the movable member ap- Conseproaches eachstation indicator, and means acting in .response to movement of the driving deviceA for effecting intermittent movement of the last mentioned means.

2. An indicating` device for indicating the positionof a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspondv with stopping-stations for such load, a pointer, means for actuating -the pointer from one station indicator to another, and a second pointer for indicating a magnified showing of the relative positions of the rst said pointer and one of said station indicators as the rst mentioned pointer `approaches each station indicator, and means actuated bythe first mentioned means for effecting intermittent movement of said second point- 3. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a pointer, a driver for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnified showing of the relative positions of the first mentioned pointer and one of vsaid station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, and means actuated by the driver for intermittently rotating the second mentionedpointer.

4. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a rotatable pointer, a driver for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnified showing of the relative positions of the first mentioned pointer and one of said station indicators as the iirst mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, transmission means for driving said second pointer, and means actuated by the driver rotatable with the first mentioned pointer to effect intermittent movement of the transmission means and thereby the second mentioned pointer.

5. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a pointer, means for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnied showing of the relative positions o'f the first said pointer and one of said station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, and means actuated by the said means for effecting rotation of the said second pointer through a constant arc to the same indicating position during the movement of the first mentioned pointer from one station indicator to another irrespective of the variations in the distance between the station indicators.

6. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a pointer, means for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnied showing of the relative positions of the first said pointer and one of said station indicators as the rst mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, transmission means for rotating said second pointer, and a plurality of actuators actuated by the said means and rotatable with the first said pointer to successively and intermittently actuate the transmission means for rotating the said second pointer.

7. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stoppingstations for such load, a pointer, means for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnied showing of the relative positions of the first said pointer and one of said station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, transmission means for rotating said second pointer, a carrier actuated by the said means and rotatable with the first mentioned pointer, a plurality of detents on the carrier to successively engage the transmission means for eecting an intermittent rotary movement of said second pointer, and means for holding the transmission means immovable during the periods of disengagement of the detents with the transmission means.

8. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having adjustable station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stopping-stations of such load, a rotary pointer, a driver for constantly rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer to indicate a magnified showing of the relative positions of the rst said pointer and one of said station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator, transmission means for rotating said second pointer, a carrier actuated by the driver and rotatable with the first said pointer, a plurality of detents on the carrier to successively engage the transmission means for effecting an intermittent rotary movement of said second pointer and being adjustable on the carrier to positions with respect to each other corresponding to the relative positions of the station indicators, and a brake for holding the transmission means immovable during the periods of disengagement of the detents with the transmission means.

9. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stopping-stations of such load, a pointer, means for rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer, and means actuated by the said means for rotating said second pointer one-half revolution during the movement of the first said pointer from one station indicator to another to indicate a magnified showing of the relative positions of the first mentioned pointer and one of said station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator.

10. An indicating device for indicating the position of a load actuated by a cable-winding drum, comprising a holder having station indicators positioned thereon to correspond with stopping-stations of such load, a pointer, means for rotating the pointer from one station indicator to another, a second pointer, and means actuated by the said means for intermittently rotating said second pointer simultaneously with the rotation of the iirst said pointer and through a greater arc than the arc between adjacent station indicators to indicate a magnified showing of the relative positions of the first mentioned pointer and one of said station indicators as the first mentioned pointer approaches each station indicator.

GEORGE M. DICK. 

